Harry Potter #5 Response

I'm about 500 pages into Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.k Rowling, and an issue I've been thinking about is ignorance. Harry is angered because he feels everyone is trying to block him out of all the information about Voldemort. Although Phineas told Harry that maybe his ignorance is what Dumbledore wants, but Harry is still angry. Is ignorance a good thing? Or is knowing everything the way to go?

Some say "Ignorance is bliss." But my question is, is it? When I watch the news and see some of the terrible things happening in the world, like murder and people dying from disease, I want to resist it, and I wish I never watched it. I feel that it's too horrible to think about. So I guess, Ignorance is bliss in a way. I mean, who doesn't want to be happy? Who wants their thoughts on poverty and war? Not me, but sometimes we have to.

In the book Harry is told the most limited amount of information by everyone, in the process of keeping him safe. He felt safe, up until he eavesdropped on one of the Order's meetings and heard something he wasn't supposed to. He found out that Voldemort might be possesing him. When he heard this, he freaked out. So this is once again, another reason why ignorance might be a good thing. Sometimes, ignorance is what keeps you safe. Harry didn't start panicking until he heard the meeting. This reminds me of the quote "The truth hurts." Although they are not lying to him, they are keeping him from knowing "too much."

In some situations ignorance can be the one thing that gets you killed. The people in the Order need to know all the information so they can protect people. In the real world, Detectives need all the evidence to solve the mystery. Even though the truth may hurt, you need to know it, to solve the problem. So the question is, when do we know when ignorance is appropriate?

I can conclude that sometimes ignorance is "good and sometimes it's "bad," but that's too obvious. But when do we know when it's "good" or "bad"? This is a question I will hope to answer later in the book.